Chapter Text
Jay sighed. He was completely exhausted and wanted to get back home to sleep. He sat on the wooden floor of the dance studio against the mirror. He watched how the hyper-energetic Niki couldn't stop dancing. He was really quick to learn new choreographies. However, he had had the flu for a couple of days and had to miss a few dance practices. Meanwhile, the other members had learned the choreography for their latest song. Jay had promised to stay and help him after the vocal practice so that Niki could catch up with the others. However, he didn't remember how determined dancer Niki was. The boy clearly wanted to learn the dance immediately and on the same day. If Niki could decide, he would dance the night away. Jay just wanted to get home, but he couldn't leave Niki alone. Niki is still a child and cannot be left unattended. Jay and Jake were sometimes a little too worried about him. Niki was in a bad phase of puberty and started to make idiotic decisions when he was alone. Jungwon had decreed that someone would have to be with him at all times until the boy became an adult. However, it was Heeseung who had promised to Niki's parents to take care of Niki on behalf of the members.
Niki was starting the choreography again. That was enough for Jay. He sprang to his feet and loudly clapped his hands together, "No! That's enough!" Niki turned to look at him, but clearly did not agree. "A couple more times! I'll learn it in no time," argued Niki. Jay rubbed his face fed up" no, no Niki... That's enough. It's already late and it's already dark outside. We have to go home or Jungwon will get mad." Niki waved his hands behind his back in annoyance" no! I want to practice some more!" Jay shook his head" you still need to eat and wash up before bed." "I'm not a little kid anymore! I'll be fine!", Niki argued. Jay frowned" but you're a kid. Darling, you're still a kid. That's why you need sleep." Niki rolled his eyes" you go ahead. I'll follow-" Jay interrupted him" no way. Now, go and pack your things and come to the dorm with me." Niki pouted. He could be a little annoying sometimes, but he was so cute. Jay couldn't be mad. He ruffled Niki's hair" aish! Why are you so cute when you're angry?" Niki turned his head away angrily and continued pouting. "Don't pout, baby," Jay teased. "I'm not a baby..."
Jay helped Niki pack his things and threw his backpack on his back. He led Niki out by the hand. Niki pouted for a while, but started to smile when he saw Seoul at night. He looked up at the sky and smiled so wide that his teeth showed. Jay who still hadn't let go of his hand turned to look at him" why are you smiling like that?" "I'm still not used to this... Seoul at night... Everything is so different from back home in Japan...", Niki continued to smile and looked at the sky with glowing eyes. Why was he so cute? He really was still a baby. Niki's smile made something warm in Jay's chest. That boy was so precious. "Come on now. They have probably made some food for us," Jay said with a smile. Niki nodded and shook Jay's hand. Jay was able to bring the boy safely back to the dorm.
"We're home!", Jay yelled as Niki got through the door. Niki kicked off his shoes and ran into the kitchen. "Smells good!", Niki shouted excitedly. "We ordered pizza. We couldn't bring ourselves to start cooking this late," Jake said with a grin. Sunoo had already cut a piece for himself and took a stringing bite from it. Niki licked his lips and took a bite of Sunoo's piece. "Hey!", Sunoo exclaimed. "You brat", Sunoo continued and narrowed his eyes angrily. Niki grinned and took a piece" I'm very hungry." "Good, because I think I ordered a little too much pizza...", Sunghoon said. "Don't worry hyung. You can never have too much pizza," Niki said and shoved the last piece of pizza into his mouth. "Ah. You guys bought pizza again... Did anyone order pepperoni pizza?", Jay finally asked when he got to the kitchen. "Of course we ordered your favorite," Heeseung said with a smile. "That has to be the most American thing ever," Sunghoon laughed. "Isn't pizza an Italian thing?" Sunoo asked, confused. "I guess Americans like it even more than the Italians. I mean, look at Jay," Sunghoon said with a chuckle and pointed at happy Jay who had found his favorite pizza.
These were definitely everyone's favorite moments. They loved spending time with each other. Niki had eagerly chosen a movie for them to watch, but had fallen asleep halfway through. He sat on the floor between Sunoo's legs, against the couch. His cheek rested against Sunoo's thigh. Sunoo stroked his hair. Heeseung looked at them lovingly. "C'mon kids! Time to go to bed," Jake said, slapping his hands on his knees and standing up. Niki furrowed his brow and clearly did not want to open his eyes. He turned onto his side and hugged Sunoo's leg, rubbing his cheek against his thigh" no...." Jake grabbed his shoulders" Come on gremlin. Come on... Let's go to shower." He lifted whining Niki on to his feet. Niki finally opened his eyes. Jake started guiding him by his shoulders towards the bathroom. Sunoo also got up and cleaned his pants" he must have drooled on my pants..." Sunghoon started giggling and Sunoo gently slapped him on the shoulder.
Jay waited for Niki to come out of the shower. He would shower after him. Niki finally opened the door. His hair was wet and he was wearing soft pajamas. "Aaw... You look so cute," Jay cooed. Niki rolled his eyes" m'not cute..." He walked past Jay. Jay took a quick shower and peeked into Niki's room. Of course he wasn't there. He sighed and went to his room. Niki was already lying in his bed. "Riki... Aren't you too old to sleep next to hyung?", Jay teased. Niki pulled the blanket further over him" I'm not too old..." "I thought you said you're not a baby?", Niki continued teasing and slipped on the bed next to Niki. Niki wrapped his arms around his waist. "I'm going to sleep next to Sunoo at some point in the night...", Niki mumbled and pressed his cheek against Jay's chest. Niki smiled happily and wrapped one arm over Niki's shoulder. Jay let himself fall asleep in peace.
Jay hasn't slept this well in a long time. He woke up from an empty bed. He smiled. At some point during the night, Niki had crept into Sunoo's bed. He used to always wake up from Sunoo's bed. Jay stretched and his door opened. Sunghoon peeked in" morning Jay hyung" He grinned. Jay stood up with a sigh" aish... Good morning to you too. Have you started making breakfast?" Sunghoon shook his head and smiled "nope. We were waiting for you." "So you were expecting me to make you breakfast?", Jay asked. Sunghoon grinned and nodded" you know us so well." Jay threw a pillow at him, but Sunghoon closed the door in time. Jay pulled on a thick hoodie and stepped into the kitchen where Sunghoon was already teasing his new victim, Sunoo. Jay smiled and waved "morning..." "Hyung! Sunghoon is bullying me!", Sunoo complained. "It's the joy of his life," Jay replied, digging out a frying pan. "Are you guys hungry?", Jay asked and everyone said yes. "Alright...I'm making pancakes," Jay muttered. He started counting in his head how many pancakes he should make, then he stopped.
Jay turned around, frying pan in hand" Sunoo, is Niki still sleeping in your bed?" Sunoo looked at him questioningly, "Huh? He's not in my bed." Sunoo looked thoughtful" now that you mention it's weird. He's usually in my bed when I wake up." "So he didn't sneak into your bed at night?", Jay asked. Sunoo shook his head. "Didn't he go to sleep in your room?" Jake asked. "Yes, but he said he will change the bed in the middle of the night and will go to Sunoo's room. Like always", Jay explained. "So he wasn't in your bed when you woke up?" Jake asked. Jay silently shook his head. Everyone looked at each other in confusion. "It can't be true... Did he really go to sleep in his own bed? He never sleeps in his own bed," Sunghoon said in disbelief. Jake and Heeseung looked at each other worriedly. Jungwon stood up and tiredly rubbed his eyes" okay, okay... I'll go see if he's in his room. Maybe the boy finally needed his own peace. He's probably still sleeping." Jungwon disappeared from the kitchen. The others didn't seem to believe what Jungwon had said. "It's not like him... Riki never sleeps in his own bed...", Heeseung murmured quietly, but the others heard him too. Jake patted him on the back.
However, no one had time to think more about it when Jungwon came running back. He was a little pale. The others flinched and turned to look at him. "What?", Jay asked scared. Jungwon swallowed hard" um... Guys... We seem to have a problem. Niki isn't in his room." Jake sprang to his feet"huh!?" "He's not here! I went through every bedroom!", Jungwon sounded horrified. Heeseung also stood up" what about the other rooms? Did you look in the bathroom?" Jungwon shook his head. The boys all got up and started looking through the apartment. They went through each room several times, but Niki was nowhere to be seen. Jake started hyperventilating" oh no... Where is that boy..?" "Calm down hyung, I'm sure we'll find him. Has anyone tried calling him? Maybe he went out?", Sunoo suggested. Sunghoon quickly dug out his phone and started dialing. "He knows he can't leave without us," Jay said. "He's a teenager... Doesn't teenagers usually break the rules?", Sunoo asked. "Oh god, I hope you're right...", Jake muttered to himself. Everyone looked at Sunghoo who looked expressionless. He raised his finger to silence everyone. Everyone stood in silence for a moment. Somewhere in the house, phone was ringing. It came from Niki's room.
They ran into Niki's room. Sunoo picked up Niki's phone from Niki's bedside table. Sunghoon lowered his. Sunoo turned to look at the others worriedly. Jake looked like he was about to pass out. "Sunghoon... Will you call the manager? We have a problem...", Jungwon asked and swallowed. Sunghoon nodded and ran out of the room. "Now what do we do..?", Jay asked in disbelief. "We need to keep looking for him. I suggest we split up. Let's go through every place where he could be," Jungwon instructed. "I'm going to the dance studio...", Jay whispered. "Maybe he's there. Yesterday he would have liked to continue training longer. Maybe he went there early in the morning to train?", Jay suggested. Jungwon nodded" good... Rest of us will split up somewhere else. Call me as soon as you get to the dance studio." Jay nodded and glanced at a sad looking Jake. All was definitely not well.
Jay literally ran to the dance studio. Fortunately, it wasn't far. He ran through every dance room. Nothing. Just a few confused staff members. Jay felt his chest tighten. Where the hell is that boy? He started asking everyone who came in if they had seen Niki. The answer was pretty clear. No one had seen him since yesterday. Jay even went to the janitor and asked if he had seen Niki on the surveillance cameras. They went through surveillance footage together, but nothing. Cold sweat began to run down Jay's forehead. He ran from dance studio straight to recording studio. He bumped into a gasping Sunghoon who was clearly startled by him. He put his phone down from his ear. His hand was shaking. "Is he here?", Jay asked, breathing heavily. Sunghoon shook his head and trembled" no... I've been through every room... I- I... I called the manager but no one has seen him." Jay felt his anxiety rising" no... no... no...." "What about the dance studio?", Sunghoon asked even though he clearly already knew the answer. Jay shook his head and leaned back on his knees" he's not there..."
Jay straightened his back again and dug out his phone. He called Jungwon. "Hey Jay hyung! Please tell me you have good news," Jungwon said as soon as he answered the phone. "I guess you didn't find him either..." Jay stated sadly. Jungwon was silent for a moment. "Come to the manager's office in the BigHit building... See you there," Jungwon said and hung up. Jay and Sunghoon arrived at the building together. It took them a while to go with the elevator to the manager's office. The others were already there. There were also a few police officers and a few staff members in the office. The manager immediately looked up at the arriving Jay and Sunghoon. Jake's eyes were red and puffy. He had clearly been crying for a while before he had arrived. "There you guys are. Jay, you are apparently the last one that saw Niki. Can you tell me when you last saw him?", one of the officers asked. Jay nodded" sure...Um...He came to sleep next to me at night but said he would change beds at some point during the night. He usually sleeps in a few different rooms during the night. He usually wakes up next to Sunoo." "Did he act strangely yesterday when you went to bed?", the police asked. Jay shook his head" no... He seemed perfectly normal. Maybe a little tired, but normal."
The cop sighed" this is a tough one... No one has seen the boy since last night. Your building's surveillance camera doesn't show him leaving at any point. He seems to have vanished into thin air." Jake looked like he was about to burst into tears again. "He is still a child, so the search must begin immediately. If he is not found within the first six hours, the chances of him being found alive will be cut in half," one of the policemen explained seriously. That was enough for Jake. He began to sob quietly. "We're doing our best to find him-" the other officer started but Heeseung cut him off "what can we do? Can we help?" "I don't think it's worth it. You need to stay safely in your apartment. Of course you can help us by telling us as much information as possible about Nishimura Riki," another policeman said. "So there's nothing we can do? Do you really think we can just stay home!?", Jay started to get nervous and Jungwon started stroking his shoulder to calm him down. "We understand that this is difficult. But we don't want the media to know yet. It could cause problems already at the beginning of the investigation," the manager said unexpectedly.
Jay couldn't believe this. Only last night he had fallen asleep with the boy in his arms. Now he was already gone. Where the hell had he gone to? How had everything happened so quickly? How had there been no trace of him? However, the police soon surrounded Niki's room and searched for evidence. A few things were clear. Niki had gone to his own room to sleep. It was visible on the bedsheets. However, he had left the bed and left his phone. There were no signs of struggle anywhere. The boy had really disappeared into thin air. No one had heard or seen anything. Or so they thought. It was Sunoo, who had been sitting alone on the couch in the living room while the police were going through Niki's room and the other boys were talking to the detective. He scrolled through Twitter to get his thoughts on somewhere else. He saw a trending video. One of their fans had filmed a very interesting video. Sunoo's eyes widened. "Guys!", he yelled, springing to his feet. The members and the detective turned to look at him. Sunoo ran in between them and showed the video" look...!"
They looked closely at Sunoo's phone screen. It was a very short video with the caption 'isn't that Niki from that Enhypen band?' The video showed a tall man dressed in dark clothes, with the hood of his hoodie pulled so far that his face could not be seen. He carriedin his arms limp, sleeping Niki, whose face could be recognized. He was also wearing the same fluffy pajamas he had been wearing after his shower. The man carried him bridal style. The video didn't even last ten seconds. Everyone was silent when the video ended. "Well boys... Looks like Niki was taken by someone while he was sleeping. Everyone else looked shocked. "Who shot that video?", Heeseung asked. "One of our fans. It was published a few hours ago and is now trending," Sunoo explained. "The video was probably shot early in the morning, because it's still kind of dark outside," the detective explained and motioned to one of the police officers. "That video is currently our most important piece of evidence...", the detective continued. A young police woman appeared next to him. The detective showed her the video" look for that girl who filmed this video. She witnessed a crime without knowing it."
"He was taken while he was sleeping..? How?", Jake looked confused and not sad for the first time. "It's surprisingly easy. You'd be surprised to know how many people have been kidnapped while sleeping from a window," the detective stated. "But how..? How did we not notice?", Jake asked. "This is someone with a lot of skill and experience. He is clearly someone who has been planning this for a long time," the detective explained. “Maybe the girl who filmed this video saw the perpetrator's face?”, Jungwon asked hopefully. "Oh god, I hope you're right..." Jay muttered.